Amber Tamblyn Leaving ‘House’ For Potential Fox Pilot

Amber Tamblyn, med student Martha Masters on House, will be leaving the series after next week’s episode. According to Tamblyn, she’s working on a yet-to-be-ordered pilot for Fox.

The news comes amid uncertainty over the future of Houseitself. While the series airs on Fox, it’s produced by NBC, and negotiations between the two networks for season 8 aren’t going well. There’s a chance that House could move to NBC next season. So far, only Hugh Laurie and Olivia Wilde have been confirmed for a return.

While Amber Tamblyn’s role was always temporary, the character of Martha Masters seamlessly blended-in with rest of House’s eclectic crew of physicians. With the return of Wilde’s character “Thirteen,” it’s time for Martha Masters to make her exit and return to medical school.

Tamblyn spoke to reporters at the College Television awards, and announced that Katie Jacobs (executive producer for House) approached her with the role of a public school teacher in the new project. While there’s no title, we do know that it focuses on a public school and is written and directed by The Wire‘s Ed Burns (Anybody else getting Boston Public vibes?).

Tambyln may be best known for her starring role on Joan of Arcadia. Her teen-aged character received frequent instruction from God in the form of a humble dog walker. The series ran for three seasons on CBS. She also played a doctor on daytime soap General Hospital for six years and featured in both Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants movies.

While it’s unlikely that Masters will return to House in any continuing capacity, the producers are “keeping the door open.” Tamblyn had good things to say about her costars, particularly Wilde, with whom she appears in tonight’s return episode: “You mean Olivia Hottypants? I love that woman! …I wish I had more screen time with her. We had a blast right off the bat.”

Tamblyn’s last episode of House will air next Monday. While it’s unclear when or even if the unnamed project will move forward, it’s got a better shot than most with Jacobs at the helm.